1998 Volvo S80 from North America - Comments

21st May 2003, 18:11

Well written description. I have a friend who has had nothing but terrible problem after problem with his S80. He tried to dump the car for a few dollars, no one will take it. A complete dog of a car. Volvo is off my list forever! I'd rather ride to work on 2 wheels than deal with another S80.

15th May 2004, 10:11

24th May 2004, 19:52

My '99 S80 Volvo is a disaster and a disgrace to the Volvo tradition of rugged design and reliable service. Volvo's slogan of "tougher than dirt" went out the window with the S80. Simply put, the car is an electronic nightmare. My S80 has 90K miles and I have put more money into the repairing the vehicle than the previous three Volvo's that I have owned - combined. Within the last 10K miles, the diagnostic testing done by the local dealer ($180) has recommended the replacement of the ABS brake module ($800), throttle injection module ($1,000), siren module ($220), mass air module ($350), cooling fan module ($350) along with several hundred dollars of misc. repair. The car reminds me of the 60's & 70's American made cars that were notorious for poor design and service. If you are the type of individual who uses the car to drive 5K miles per year - back and forth to the golf club and/or your Volvo dealership, this is the car for you - nice style & roomy. If you are the type of individual who actually drives the car they own, you'd be better off buying a Ford Taurus and use the additional $20K on golf lessons - your friends might ride you about driving a Ford, but you won't have to have it towed to the dealership. Volvo committed the cardinal sin with the S80 - product introduction before the bugs were worked out. In doing so, they lost a "Volvo for Life" customer.

9th Sep 2004, 20:29

The S80 Volvo I have had many problems with, the emission light staying on,I have had it fixed by the Volvo several times. the fuel filler cap warning light goes off and on.I had the transmission fixed on the car and the computer light has warning message a few weeks after the car gets repaired.this car has been a real lemon. the throttle was repaired I had the brake pad warning light I got new brakes. the air bag warning light is on I don't know what to do with this car!

4th Dec 2004, 16:59

Thank god I read this review before I purchased a 1999 Volvo S80 T6 twin turbo. The guy trying to sell it to me seemed very upfront how it was such a great car and in mint condition, but after reading this review how could it not be? I mean by the sounds of it half the car if being replaced every 70k miles or so. Thanks a lot guys you just saved me from a very bad choice.

26th Dec 2004, 20:43

Thanks so much for this review and all the comments. We just about bought an S80 the other day from a guy who wanted to dump it badly. We were thrilled with the fact that we would be moving from either a 740 or 940 up to an S80! We were just about to skip the 850 and 960! That would have been an error. I love this site. Thanks everybody!

20th Jan 2005, 23:07

I just got a 1999 volvo S80 for $9k with only 50k miles on it, everything in the car seems to be perfect there's no problems at with my volvo S80. I think it's a very nice car, I've had mine now for about 3 months and theres not one thing wrong with it, my volvo mainly had highway miles on it. I guess it just depends on who had it last and how they used the car.

3rd Nov 2008, 11:00

I have a Volvo s80 t6. She has 99K miles on her and she has been a good car. I have only had the ABS module replaced under extended warranty. Now getting to replace the timing belt, 90K service and fix the "Bump Noise" under the l front of the car. I love the car but she is not a great car. But still better than walking. And she is Paid for. please stay together for another year or so with no car payment.....

16th Apr 2009, 05:18

HELLO Volvo S80 owners. It is true, that the S80 is an unreliable badly built car. What you don't understand, is it's not Volvo (as we know it) anymore. Volvo cars been bought by Ford (U.S.A) in 1997. Since then, all Volvos are crap. It's a Ford policy to cut costs, which results in poor quality cars made by Ford (Volvo).

19th Jul 2009, 19:12

I've had a 99 S80 for 10 years, which is 9.5 years too long. After 6 months, the timing chain broke. Dealer fixed it, but we had an oil leak a few months later which they would not fix. Since then, it has been nothing but headaches. A 3 ft. metal bar fell off the sun roof and hit my wife in the face while she was driving. Found out years later it was a grab bar for installers. The engine light has been on for years due to faulty sensors that cost 2000+ to replace. Nothing wrong with the engine, just the sensors. Fan module had a recall that the dealer won't honor now. I can't count the boots, modules and sensors that have gone out. Never again. Volvo's are crap.

21st Jul 2009, 22:51

"Volvo cars been bought by Ford (U.S.A) in 1997. Since then, all Volvos are crap."

A search in Google on "year Ford bought Volvo" will show that Ford bought Volvo in 1999.

A look through Consumer Reports reliability ratings for the S80 will show the years 1998 and 1999 had much worse than average reliability. After a few years of Ford ownership, the S80 reliability improves to better than average.

2nd Aug 2009, 00:42

Oh my god... I bought a 2.8 S80 T6 1999 last week... reading what's on here I wish I hadn't... it's done 60k... I drive on the motorway...i t all seems fine to me... just got an airbag check light on up to now LOL...

It's an old car with loads of luxury... and drives nice... maybe mine's a good one... we will see LOL... I'm going to ignore all these check lights if they come up.. seems like a computer glitch to me... I'm going to keep using it up and down the motorway and see how it goes.. Keep you posted LOL.